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Whitey Bulger witness found dead amid mob murder trial

G. Jeffrey MacDonald, USA TODAY
Published 6:50 p.m. ET July 18, 2013

A man who wanted to testify against James "Whitey" Bulger has been found dead and no one knows yet why he died

In this Tuesday, June 12, 2012, file photo Stephen Rakes receives a handshake outside federal court in Boston. Authorities say Rakes, who was on the witness list for the racketeering trial of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger, has died.(Photo: Elise Amendola, AP)

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BOSTON – For the past six weeks, the racketeering trial of James "Whitey" Bulger has featured harrowing tales of potential witnesses who were murdered in the 1970s and 80s before they could testify against Bulger.

Now another potential witness is dead – and court watchers are wondering why.

Fifty-nine-year-old Stephen "Stippo" Rakes was on the government's witness list when his body turned up Wednesday afternoon by a road in Lincoln, about 30 miles from his Quincy home. His body showed no signs of trauma, according to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office, but an autopsy and state police investigation are underway.

Rakes was upset when he learned this week that prosecutors were not planning to have him testify against Bulger, according to his friend Steve Davis, whose sister Debra Davis was allegedly killed by Bulger. Having been impugned in prior testimony, Rakes had been looking forward to telling his side of the story, Davis said.

"He said his testimony was going to mean more to this case than anybody else's," Davis said outside the courthouse Thursday. "Now we'll never know what he would have said."

Rakes had owned the South Boston Liquor Mart until members of Bulger's Winter Hill gang bought it in the 1980s, allegedly to launder money there and provide the semblance of a legitimate income stream. His name has come up in prior testimony, such as when Bulger protégé Kevin Weeks said he doesn't like him and admitted he lied to authorities in an attempt to hurt Rakes.

Davis says that Rakes appeared to be in excellent health and stayed in good shape by biking and other forms of excercise. He said that the fact that Rakes stayed in good physical shape would lead him to believe that Rakes was not suicidal.

It's unclear who - if anyone - would have wanted to stop Rakes from his intention to testify.

If Rakes had a bombshell to drop in court, "It would surely be something that we would want to know about," said Richard Mangan, professor of criminology at Florida Atlantic University. "It could, perhaps, point to someone other than Bulger who would have a motive for insuring that the bombshell would never be revealed."

Rakes' untimely and mysterious death comes as the prosecution brings its case against Bulger to a crescendo. On Thursday, the government called Bulger's closest partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi, to the stand.

Flemmi entered the courtroom prematurely, apparently by accident, and exchanged long glares with Bulger, who hadn't seen him in two decades.

"There was some confusion about witness orders, and a very big mistake created an extremely awkward moment in the courtroom," said David Frank, managing editor for Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly newspaper, which covers legal affairs.

On the stand for only 10 minutes and due to return tomorrow, Flemmi described Bulger as an "overbearing, forceful" personality. He called their relationship "strictly criminal." He said they got together almost every day for 20 years and vacationed together in Europe.

In a claim that Bulger strongly rejects, Flemmi said they were both informants for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and cooperated to get information to corrupt FBI agent John Connolly. Bulger did most of the talking in those sessions, Flemmi said, often providing details about Boston's Italian mafia.

"I was giving [Bulger] information, and he was giving it to the FBI," Flemmi said.

As jurors prepare to hear the rest of Flemmi's recollections, they won't even know about Rakes' death. That's presuming they adhere to strict orders from Judge Denise Casper not to discuss the case or listen to news reports about it. And because it seems Rakes wasn't likely to testify, his death will have no direct impact on the trial, Frank said.

But it has nonetheless cast a pall over the courthouse, where Rakes had been a daily presence in the Bulger trial courtroom and where victims family members are wondering what to make of it.

Tommy Donahue, whose father Michael was allegedly murdered in a Bulger-led 1982 hit, doesn't believe Rakes committed suicide because he "was a joy" who was always in good spirits. He hopes natural causes, not foul play, account for his death.

"He told me on hundreds of occasions that he couldn't wait to get his day in court," Donahue said. "He wasn't in fear for his life."

But Davis is suspicious. He's "110 percent" sure his friend's death wasn't a suicide, he says, adding "it's no coincidence" that he died at a time when he could was eligible to bear witness in a high-profile case.

"I'm thinking somebody slipped something in his drink, poisoned him or something," Davis says. "I don't know how many enemies he had."